Understanding Menopause
Author: Michael Jason

Menopause refers to a stage in woman's life characterized by a
permanent cessation of her menstrual activities. It implies
that a woman stops having her monthly menstrual periods for the
rest of her life, after she achieves the menopause. A normal
healthy woman reaches the menopause between the ages of 40-50.
Menopause marks the end of a woman's fertility and reproductive
years. During the menopause, production of the estrogen hormone
reduces drastically in a woman and her ovaries stop producing
eggs.

It can take 5 years for a woman to achieve the final menopause
stage. If a woman has not experienced any menstrual periods for
a year, the condition is known as menopause. When a woman is in
her puberty stage or childbearing years, her ovaries release an
egg every month. This release is known as ovulation. Ovaries
also produce the hormone estrogen. This hormone instructs the
uterus to build up a lining. This lining allows the implant and
growth of the fertilized egg.

As the women nears her menopause years, the production of
estrogen decreases. As a result, she will experience irregular
menstrual cycles. The irregularities include skipped periods,
light or heavy menstrual flow. A woman could also experience
random bleeding as well.

Symptoms of Menopause
Menopause is a natural and biological process. It is not a
disease. It is just a transition period of a woman's life. 75%
of women experience some or all of the troublesome symptoms
during the menopause. There are no common symptoms as every
woman's body would react in a unique way towards the menopause.
Here are some of the common symptoms that women show during the
phase of menopause.

Hot flashes are landmark signs of menopause. As the level of
estrogen drops in a woman, her blood vessels expand rapidly.
This causes her skin temperature to rise. This can further
cause hot flashes or a sudden spread of warmth to her
shoulders, head and neck, starting from her chest. This sudden
gush of warmth causes a woman to sweat, and when the sweat
evaporates from her skin, she feels chilled, and slightly
faint. Women also experience raid heart beating and a feeling
of anxiety. The face of a woman looks flushed. She might
experience red blotches on her neck, arms and chest area.

These hot flashes usually last up to 30 seconds and in some
cases up to several minutes. There is no common frequency or
duration of hot flashes as they vary from a woman to woman.
Women often experience hot flashes during the initial years
after their menopause.

Hot flashes affect the life of a woman directly. If they happen
during night, they can disrupt the sleep. They cause night
sweats. A woman can often wake up and have trouble getting back
to sleep again. This results in lack of restful and refreshing
sleep, which can have a knock on effect in the morning.

Irregular periods
As a woman approaches her menopause stage, she experiences
irregularity in the menstrual periods. Periods become either
long or short. Menstrual bleeding becomes heavier or lighter. A
woman might experience skipping of periods. These symptoms mark
the onset of menopause.

Vaginal thinning
As a result of menopause the production of estrogen decreases.
As a result of it the organs such as urinary bladder, vagina,
uterus, and urethra become weak and shrink. When bladder and
urethra become weak and shrink, they can lead to infection,
leakage of urine and painful urination.

As the tissue lining of vagina shrinks a woman experiences pain
during intercourse. A woman might also suffer from vaginal
dryness, irritation and itching.

Changes in appearance
During the menopause transition, a woman on an average gains 5
pounds of weight. Initially this weight was believed to get
concentrated on hips and thighs of a woman. New researches have
shown that the weight might settle in a woman's abdomen too.
A woman might experience wrinkling of the skin, fullness in
breasts, and thinning hair.

Behavioral and emotional changes
A woman might experience fatigue, irritability and frustration
during menopause. She might experience decreased concentration
and memory loss. These changes are a direct result of hormonal
fluctuations in her body during menopause.

Weak bones
As a result of menopause the density of bones in a woman's body
tends to decrease. She starts losing calcium from her bones
following the drop in estrogen levels. This can lead to a
condition of weak bones known as osteoporosis. A woman also
becomes susceptible to fractures.

The menopause is completely a natural phenomenon marking the
end of a woman's reproductive term, but not the end of her
life. It is a transition time, the symptoms of which can be
effectively managed.


About The Author: Michael Jason writes articles on a number of
different topics. For more information on Menopause symptoms
please visit http://www.menopause-guide.org/ and for additional
Menopause related articles please visit the following article
page http://www.menopause-guide.org/menopause-articles/